Business Directories

$2m school pledge for Syria refugees

Manama, August 14, 2014

Bahrain has pledged to build another school worth $2 million for Syrian refugees in Jordan within the next six months.

The Royal Charity Organisation (RCO) signed an agreement with the Jordanian Charity Organisation (JCO) to construct the Bahrain School for Syrian Refugees in Irbid Governorate, north of the capital Amman.

The planned school will have 19 classrooms as well as academic laboratories, playgrounds, administrative and educational offices and other facilities and is designed to cater to Syrian refugees in the morning and Jordanian citizens in the evening.

"This school project comes after the success accomplished in the Bahrain Academic Complex in Al Zaatari Camp for Syrian Refugees in Jordan," said RCO secretary-general Dr Mustafa Al Sayed, who signed the agreement on behalf of Bahrain with JCO secretary-general Ayman Riyadh Al Mofleh.

"The move is in compliance with the directives of His Majesty King Hamad, under the auspices of RCO board of trustees chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa."

The agreement was signed in Amman, in the presence of Bahrain's Ambassador to Jordan Nasser bin Rashid Al Kaabi, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) general commissioner in the Near East Peter Ford and RCO director for planning and projects Ebrahim Aldoseri, alongside other officials.

"Irbid Governorate, with the second largest population in Jordan and with the highest population density, houses many Syrian refugees who can afford to live outside the refugee camps," Aldoseri told the GDN.

"These people can afford to pay rent and meet daily expenses and so with government's permission, they live outside the camps.

"But the public schools are running to full capacity and often their children don't have places in them - hence the Jordanian education ministry suggested that we build a school, which we agreed to.

Agreement

"This agreement is part of the RCO's contribution to Syrian refugees in co-operation with the Hashemite Charity Organisation under the supervision of the Jordanian education ministry," he added.

The project is part of Bahrain's BD20m contribution to assist displaced Syrians as announced by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, during the International Donors' Conference for Humanitarian Assistance to Syrian Refugees, held in Kuwait earlier this year.

The RCO also pledged $5.5m yesterday towards the UNRWA's reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
In a separate agreement, $200,000 worth of urgent essential supplies will also be provided by the RCO through the UNRWA for Palestinians affected by the month-long Israeli bombardment of the territory.

"With this generous donation to UNRWA's Flash Appeal, Bahrain once again stands at the forefront of support to Gaza," said UNRWA commissioner general Pierre Krahenbuhl.

"These funds will not only be providing urgently needed relief to the population in Gaza, but will also support a longer-term reconstruction programme.

"The scale of destruction of civilian infrastructure is extensive, with many thousands having no homes to return to - I wish to sincerely thank the government of Bahrain for its solidarity at this most challenging time."

After the 2008-2009 conflict in Gaza, Bahrain provided approximately $5 million for the construction of a new school, health centre and library.

Bahrain has also dispatched two shipments of medicines and medical aid to the region, following a national donation campaign last month.

Meanwhile, the GDN reported on Tuesday that Bahrain had signed an agreement to build a medical centre and a residential complex costing $3.5 million in Jordan's Al Azraq refugee camp within the next four months. - TradeArabia News Service